Vonage Settles With Verizon for at Least $80M 74
netbuzz writes "Fresh off agreeing to pay Sprint Nextel $80 million earlier this month, Vonage has now agreed to compensate Verizon at least $80 million to settle their patent dispute, and the total could hit $117 million depending on the outcome of appeals Vonage has pending. 'If Vonage wins rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent or if the injunction is vacated as to the '574 or '711 patent, Vonage will pay Verizon $80 million. If Vonage does not win rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent, or if the stay is lifted reinstating the injunction, Vonage will pay Verizon $117.5 million.' And, of course, don't forget AT&T just recently opened charges against the company as well."
Don't forget, no net neutrality (Score:1, Interesting)
What if it wins both patents? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Pattent Trolls (Score:5, Interesting)
The size of these companies and their control are beyond the scope of what consumers can affect. They muscle competition off of the playing field which has led to the helplessness of consumers at this point. But hey, it's part of the cycle. Another decade or so, after AT&T/Verizon/Sprint have all merged again and widened our collective sphincters a good couple of inches, maybe the governemtn will break them up and we'll start the whole cycle again.
You know? (Score:4, Interesting)
IMHO, software patents in and of themselves suck, but there's a bit of me hoping like Hell that Verizon, AT&T, and all their kith and kin get slammed (soon) with a multi-billion-dollar patent lawsuit from some tiny company no one has ever heard of. Something big enough to hurt.
(or at least something big enough to get legislative attention and end this whole software patent silliness...)
Re:Pattent Trolls (Score:3, Interesting)
Find the most offensive one or two. Boycott them. They are forced to change to stay in business.
Suddenly, the ones that you didn't boycott lose their market share as the formerly boycotted companies pick up a lot of clients. Even though they have had profit for a while, the non-boycotted companies will find their coffers significantly less lined. They now have to fall into line, and make the same changes.
The trick isn't boycotting everyone, just one that can be influential. Now, the problem is getting people organized and boycotting the SAME company, that's a challange.